


Under The Same Sky

by plumclouds



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Fluff, I don't know what the opposite of slow burn is but this is that, KiHoHyuk Are BFFs, M/M, Minor Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past ChangKi, Time Travel, queen in-hyun's man au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-11-14 05:51:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18046721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plumclouds/pseuds/plumclouds
Summary: Yoo Kihyun is a radio dj in the 21st century. Son Hyunwoo is a high-ranking personal guard in the 18th century. They fall for each other, quite literally, when Fate intervenes.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Beta by [SoftKihyun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftKihyun/pseuds/SoftKihyun)

Trees past in a blur as Hyunwoo leans his body forward to gain momentum. He signals his horse to gallop even faster. It is only mere seconds later when he hears the second rider behind him. The letter burns heavy pressed to his chest. He can’t look back. No matter how his instincts scream at him to take care of the danger approaching from behind. He can’t afford to lose focus and put even less of a distance between him and the threat. He will do his best to get the letter to the right hand. It is this thought that spurs him on as he rides. The second rider’s horse is catching up to him and he can hear the grunts from the man behind him. He’s so focused on the singular goal of riding faster that he doesn’t pick up on the change in the atmosphere in the forest. Or the distorting circular shape directly ahead of him as sweat drips down his forehead. It is only when he can no longer stop he realizes he’s riding into- something. Before he can process it, a strange sensation passes over his whole body and there is suddenly someone in front of him. Standing still as a statue in his path and not making any move to step away. 

 

_“And tonight, before you’re all off to bed, I would just like to remark that today’s the first day of spring! I’ve been very excited for the warmer weather, it’s been too cold these last few weeks, hasn’t it? Of course, spring symbolizes change and while we exchange our heavy coats for lighter jackets, let’s think about what other changes in our lives that could be happening too. Good night everyone. As always, this has been _Kiss You _with Yoo Kihyun. _____


	2. Chapter 2

_One day before_

“I know I have asked many things from you. But I must ask once more”.

Hyunwoo raises his head to look at the man in front of him. Expression haggard but determined.

“It is my honor to serve you, Your Highness”, Hyunwoo says and bows.

A sheaf of folder paper appears in front of Hyunwoo. “This letter needs to be received by Magistrate Do”. Hyunwoo takes the proffered letter with both of his hands. “Gaining his support is crucial to our cause if we plan to succeed”. Hyunwoo makes to pull the letter back but his hands are stayed from the tone of the prince’s next words.

“I know this is treason, to ask this of you. That supporting me means overthrowing the current crown prince. But I beg of you, to be by my side one more time.” The prince’s voice does not waver, but his eyes show the desperation, and the hope, that has always defined him, as a young man, born mere months after the current crown prince, having to stand by idly while the queen and her faction runs the nation to the ground. 

Hyunwoo steels his tone as well. “Your Highness, I owe my life to you. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have perished with the rest of my family. I am only regretful that serving you is all I can do to repay your kindness”. Hyunwoo accepts the letter, knowing what he holds in his hand might finally be enough to repay for all that he has owed, knowing that what he holds in his hand is worth more than his life. 

“Thank you, Hyunwoo”, the prince bows and Hyunwoo immediately bows again. Before he can say anything else, a knock on the door snaps him to attention. His hand immediately reaching for his sword. 

“Your Highness, Lady Sangja is here”, the head servant’s voice rings loudly through the closed door.

The prince gives an acknowledgment that he will receive her shortly and turns back to Hyunwoo. “I will need to discuss what she has learned from Minister Kim’s latest outing with her,” the prince explains. “Now, go, you have a hard day’s ride ahead.” 

Hyunwoo gets up and bows one last time before he is out the door. He turns to the right to greet Lady Sangja.

“My lord”, the lady greets him back. Hyunwoo is about to set out for the main doors of the prince’s quarter before he is halted. “A moment, please”. Hyunwoo turns back to see what the lady requires of him. “The prince has sent his most trusted confidant on an important mission”, the lady speaks in a soft but firm voice, letting Hyunwoo know that she is aware of the grave situation they all find themselves in.  
“Please, accept this token and let it protect you.” The lady hands over something to Hyunwoo. He inspects it to see that it is a talisman. “I know you may not put much stock in these things but please have it upon your person for my peace of mind”, the lady begs.

Hyunwoo smiles, “thank you, My Lady”. He puts the talisman above the letter in his vest and with that, he bids her farewell. 

He makes his way to the courtyard outside to find that his horse is already saddled for him. He brushes a hand down the beast’s mane and climbs up on the horse to make his way to Magistrate Do. 

 

The incessant buzzing of his bell wakes Kihyun up from his impromptu mini-nap. He blindly reaches for his phone above his head on the couch to see that it’s only been twenty minutes. He sighs in relief that he hasn’t lost that much time for his weekly cleaning before scoffing at the very vocal chaos coming from the door.

“Ya! Yoo Kihyun, hurry up! I need to pee!” is followed by loud banging. Kihyun walks over to the door and flings it open to see Minhyuk’s face lit up in an annoying grin.

“Can’t you announce your presence like a normal person”, Kihyun grumbles, “every single time”, he mutters under his breath as he moves aside to let Minhyuk in. 

Minhyuk turns around, still wearing that shit-eating grin. “Ah, but how will I see your cute grumpy face otherwise”. Minhyuk moves to hug (read: squeeze the living daylights out of) him, and Kihyun, after 10 years of knowing Lee Minhyuk, makes an X with his arms so Minhyuk can’t try and make a Kihyun-pancake. 

“Ahh, get off”, Kihyun protests half-heartedly, because he’s still a little bit groggy. 

“One of these days, you’re gonna open the door to a handsome man that’s not me or Hoseok, and what will he say to seeing you in your baggy pajamas with a face mask still on your face?”

Kihyun slaps his hands on his face to only realize that he fell asleep with the face mask on. He peels it off and folds it on his way to the trash can next to the fridge. Minhyuk is already making himself comfortable on the couch.

“I don’t know what that imaginary man is going to say, but I would say that I’m at home and I really can’t be bothered”. Kihyun takes out a water bottle from the fridge and grab two mugs for him and Minhyuk.

“How is it that your neat-freakness doesn’t extend over to your actual body”, Minhyuk pokes him in his side as he makes it way back to the living room to sit on the couch, almost making Kihyun drop everything he’s holding. Kihyun hisses at him and Minhyuk moves over to make room for him. 

“Why would I wear makeup at home? It’s bad enough I have to wear it for work”, Kihyun scrunches his nose at the thought, even though he’s gotten used to being in the makeup chair and letting people poke and prod him - because it’s a Bolra radio program - after two years of having done it. “Besides, I’m a natural beauty”, Kihyun smirks.

“Whatever makes you sleep at night, Kihyunn-ahhhh”, Minhyuk finishes his sentence with a scream when Kihyun puts him a chokehold. Kihyun releases him when Minhyuk taps on the coffee table in front of him.

“Where’s Hoseok,” Kihyun questions. “I thought he said he was coming too?” 

Minhyuk makes a face at his question. “He abandoned us lonely but hot bachelors for a date, that bastard.” 

“Oh,” Kihyun scrunches his eyebrows in confusion. “He didn’t tell me that”.

Minhyuk scoffs, “he didn’t tell me either, but I have my ways. Anyway, enough about that traitor, what’s this you said about Spring and changes, like Yoo Kihyun, Mr. I-have-my-life-plan-down-to-the-second-I’ll-be-dying would be talking about changes. You’re so funny, Kihyunnie”.

Kihyun makes a mocking face at Minhyuk. “The radio got some new stuff and ads they want to run so they thought that would make a nice closing. And besides”, Kihyun shoves at Minhyuk, “I can change into a pro-change person. You don’t know me, you don’t know my life.”

Minhyuk guffaws at that and Kihyun contemplates if it’s worth the effort of putting him in a headlock again or just grab the take-out menus instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter one, I feel like this was a little awkward of a place to end it on but I needed to establish some backstory before picking back up on their first meeting. The next updates might take a few days because work, sadly.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s only by the breadth of a hair’s distance when Hyunwoo manages to rein his horse to the side to avoid colliding with the person who had crouched down on the ground. Hyunwoo turns the horse back to see whether he has hit the person after all, when the person makes no move to get up. It is only then he realizes that he must have lost the rider trailing after him. Hyunwoo scans the surrounding area to see if he has truly been rid of his fellow rider. He deems it safe after a couple more seconds have passed to dismount from his horse and approach the person who almost got ran over. 

“Are you hurt?” Hyunwoo lowers one knee to the ground to get a better look when the person lifts his head and their eyes meet. And Hyunwoo loses a breath from the man in front of him. He seems to be about Hyunwoo’s age. His hair cropped indecently short and a shade of brown that Hyunwoo can’t bring himself to name at the moment. His red lips quivering slightly. And his eyes, resting above sharp cheekbones, were the color of teak but shining brighter than anything he’s seen, and Hyunwoo finally releases the breath that’s been stolen from him and thinks maybe Lady Sangja was wrong because he definitely believes in these things now, an angel has been sent to aide him in his mission.

“DEMON!” The accusing outburst, coupled with a pointed finger, has Hyunwoo reaching for his sword. This only exacerbates the panicking man who flinches away from him and Hyunwoo realizes that he himself is being called a demon. 

“Did you hit your head?” 

“You! You just came out from that portal-thing. I saw you! With my own eyes! You-you’re a demon. Or a wizard but you look too good to be a Dumbledore. I’m not making any deals. Be gone!” 

The outpouring of words is ended with the man clapping his hands together and then spreading them in front of him, as though he’s physically pushing Hyunwoo away without touching him.

Hyunwoo concludes that this is certainly not an angel sent to guide him but a confused villager passing through. He looks around his surroundings again to make sure it’s safe to leave this man here.

“My apologies, if you are not injured, I must be on my way”. Hyunwoo bows and takes one last look at the strange man wearing strange clothes and returns to his horse. 

Hyunwoo rides ahead for only a hundred paces or so when he jerks to a stop again. In front of him is no longer the forest but a wider area of shaded trees and flowers lined up next to a small paved path. He sees, not stone, but wooden benches to either side of him. He takes his hat off to ensure that his eyes are not betraying him. He blinks and shakes his head but what he sees in front of him doesn’t change. 

This is impossible. He’s taken this route many times before and he knows it well. The woods he has ridden in continue for another half-day’s ride before he’s in Gangwon-do. He can see clusters of people a little further ahead and all of them seem to be wearing strange clothing, not dissimilar to the man he’s just passed. 

A blaring horn coming from the left grabs his attention and he turns to see…what looks like a fast-moving wagon speeding by. There are other wagons, similarly built, around the enclosure as well. 

He tries to think back on whether a new development project has been approved for this area, but he can’t seem to recollect any such laws that were passed and even then, these changes should have taken years to implement and he hast last taken this route only a handful of months prior. 

He needs to find out what’s going on, but he can’t let people see him, in case any of them are working for the crown prince. He decides to turn back to where he came from and seek out the man he almost ran over. 

“You!” The man points a finger at him again and scurries backward, away from Hyunwoo. “I told you I don’t want to make any deals if you’re a demon and you can’t kidnap me! I’m not a virgin! I know the rules for these things”.

Hyunwoo doesn’t understand what the man is saying, and his rambling only seems to get faster and louder. Hyunwoo reaches a hand into his vest to confirm the letter is still in its place. He’s about to speak when the man in front of him disappears. 

Hyunwoo searches around for the man. How can anyone vanish in the blink of an eye? He can’t find a trace of the man anywhere, but the woods look familiar to him again and further searching proves that this is the path he remembers. The strange encampment and people he has just seen mere minutes ago seem to have vanished along with the strange man as well. 

He deliberates whether he should try to investigate to see if the crown prince’s people have gotten to him and this is all a ploy designed to block him from reaching Magistrate Do. But this could also be an unrelated phenomenon and he still needs to deliver the letter. With that goal back in the forefront of his mind, he decides to press towards Gangwon-do. Maybe he might be able to get to the bottom of the situation there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to change the chapter numbers back to the default because knowing me, this is going to get confusing otherwise. But they finally meet! If you've seen the drama before, I have definitely changed things around to better fit the rest of the story. Hyunwoo still hasn't processed what just happened while Kihyun's mostly just freaking out. I'm working on the next part so maybe it won't be another week before that, let's hope.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Hoseok asks as he leads Kihyun inside the apartment. He arranges his shoes so that they’re straight and lined up while he put Kihyun’s shoes on the rack next to the door. Kihyun appreciates that Hoseok’s trying to put less stress on him because Kihyun normally fusses about these things to both Hoseok and Minhyuk with varying degrees of success.

“I’m fine, I told you, I thought I might have been coming down with something and I didn’t want to drive, just in case”, Kihyun waves him off, hoping that maybe this time, Hoseok would let it go.

But Hoseok probably is right to worry though, since Kihyun usually isn’t one to ask for these kinds of favors, to the exasperation of both of his best friends, but he definitely wasn’t in the best condition to be operating a vehicle. Kihyun doesn’t think anyone would be after the encounter he had earlier in the day. He had asked Hoseok to pick him up, in the middle of Hoseok’s shift, and drive him to the radio station after Hoseok gets off work. He would’ve taken a cab back home but Hoseok insisted on waiting around and driving him home. 

Now that he has had a nap- if begging Hoseok to let him crash from the adrenaline rush in the break room of the salon Hoseok works in for 45 minutes counts- and has had sustenance and most importantly, time, to process what had happened this afternoon, Kihyun’s in a better place to assess the situation. 

At first, he thought he might have dreamed up the whole thing, but he hasn’t had those weirdly detailed dreams since he was a uni student, living off 4 hours of sleep a day. No, he’s been making a point to get enough sleep and food and taking walks in the park to improve his health. He trusts his mind enough to know that he was not hallucinating. 

He briefly entertains the thought that Minhyuk might have been pulling a prank on him, but this would have taken at least a few weeks to plan and Minhyuk would not have been able to keep this a secret for that long. 

Kihyun knows, now, that the man he saw was probably, not a demon. He seemed too nice for that. He doesn’t know how or why but he just knows that the man did not mean him any harm. And it’s not just his very good-looking face that is swaying Kihyun’s opinion, definitely not. 

There are only two possible explanations: either the man is an actor, filming for a period piece- he definitely was dressed for the part- or he’s a really _really_ good magician. 

Of course, there is a third possibility that Kihyun isn’t considering for the moment. That the man somehow time-traveled. It sounds ridiculous even thinking it but Kihyun has seen enough dramas. _Not that this is a drama_. He’ll only even approach this possibility after he’s ruled everything else out. 

“-Kihyun-ah!” Hoseok’s worried face startles Kihyun from his thoughts. He looks up from where he’s sprawling on the couch to see Hoseok standing in front of him, offering him a glass of water. 

“Thanks”, Kihyun offers in response and chugs half of the glass’ contents in one gulp. 

“Will you really be fine?” Hoseok questions. “Should I stay over tonight or call Minhyuk over?”

“NO!” Kihyun’s outburst makes them both flinch but the last thing he needs is Minhyuk getting wind of this. He needs to get more information first before he involves other people and Minhyuk won’t let this be if he learns even the slightest detail. 

Kihyun fixes his best smile on his friend and hopes it’ll be enough to assuage Hoseok’s worries for now. “I’ll be fine hyung, nothing a good night sleep won’t fix. Now, go home, you still have work tomorrow.”

Hoseok looks like he wants to say something more but after a while he sighs. “Ok, but text me tomorrow, will you? Or call me if you need anything. I’ll come pick you up for work after my shift ends.”

Kihyun acquiesces because arguing about it will just make it worse and he knows it’s the only thing that’ll make Hoseok leave. Even with the promise to check in, he practically has to push Hoseok out the door. 

He freshens up and gets ready for bed within half an hour of Hoseok leaving. He lays in bed and reorders his thoughts one last time. One thing is for sure, he needs to figure out what’s going on, and going back to the scene of the crime is the first step in getting the answers he needs. Kihyun resolves to do just that as soon as he can. He falls asleep to the handsome face of the stranger, his concerned gaze the last thing Kihyun recalls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update was originally part of the last chapter but it just didn't make the cut. But, we meet Wonho! He's a stylist and yes, I definitely got the inspiration from the drama parody. Kihyun only calls him hyung when he's serious, otherwise he takes the pass Wonho's given him and Minhyuk and doesn't use formal speech with him. Minhyuk calls him hyung, never. I hope he gives everyone second lead syndrome, except better cuz he isn't and won't be in love with either of our main leads.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor description of a very minor character dying

Safety. Time. Road. Faith. Change.

 

Hyunwoo carefully runs his hands over the talisman again. The five characters inked on the paper are written in Hanja. He doesn’t frequent the temples, but he’s seen talismans like this before. Blessed by the monks and endowed upon desperate followers, they have been around for many ages.

Then, what makes this one so unique?

He has arrived at his destination two days prior. The rest of his journey had gone off without a hitch. He has handed the missive into Magistrate Do’s hands and has been resting for his return to the capital. And with the free time he has found on his hand, he’s begun to turn his thoughts to what he saw that day on his way here. 

Hyunwoo has had enough experiences in his life to know he can’t chalk it off to a lucky happenstance. He knows that he was somewhere else in that forest for those handful of moments. It was all he needed to avoid a dangerous situation, except, he knows he didn’t do so by simply being faster that his pursuer. 

But then, where was he?

He has found the local temple yesterday. After offering donations and paying his respects, he has sought out a monk who might have been able to answer his questions. He reflects on the conversation he had that has left him with more questions than he initially had.

“You believe that this is the work of the talisman?” Hyunwoo questioned after the monk had inspected the item in question and handed it back to him. Hyunwoo had regaled the tale of his lucky escape and had questioned how that could have happened. The monk had asked if Hyunwoo had anything with him that he normally would not have and Hyunwoo had pointed to the talisman the Lady Sangja had given him.

The monk gave him a knowing smile. “I understand that it is difficult to have true faith, especially in these days.” Hyunwoo’s disbelieving frown turned into a grimace as he bowed to the monk. “But the strength of a talisman, or a charm, lies in the faith and devotion of the person giving it. I would encourage you to keep this safe and on you, for it may continue to have its uses.”

Hyunwoo is brought out of his thoughts by a summon to appear in front of Magistrate Do. He tucks the talisman into his vest and grabs his sword to follow the servant who has come to collect him to Magistrate Do’s room.

He is quickly admitted after the servant announced his presence. He bows to Magistrate Do and kneels in front of the man when he gestures for Hyunwoo to sit.

“I know you’re anxious to make the return to His Highness, but we must delay it a while longer.” 

Hyunwoo doesn’t protest outrightly but he tenses at the words. He knows Magistrate Do hasn’t given him any reason to doubt his loyalty to Hyunwoo’s master and he’s one of the staunchest critics of the crown prince, but Hyunwoo doesn’t know why he would make such a request.

“I can see why you might be hesitant”, Magistrate Do acknowledges. “But the logistics of planning a coup does require creative resolutions to problems”, Magistrate Do chuckles. “And one of them is that your face is well-known in a lot of circles as Prince Lee Wol’s guard and confidante. It won’t take long for people to discover that you’re here and I have no doubt that once you’re in the capital, you’ll likely be intercepted. Perhaps, even on your way there.”

Hyunwoo takes a moment think on the truth of Magistrate Do’s words. He can’t refute that he’s not an anonymous face and therefore, whatever mission he might need to carry back will be impeded by the enemies he would face along the way.

“Then,” Hyunwoo starts, “what would you like me to do?”

A smirk slowly forms on Magistrate Do’s face. “Be a diversion”.

 

 

Kihyun takes out his phone to check the time again and sighs to see he’s been here for over two hours now. Minhyuk’s already texted that he’s going to wait at the salon for Kihyun after he gets off work and Kihyun knows that Minhyuk’s probably going to torture him for information. This is his third day in a row coming to the park and each day, he’s spent more time than he should waiting for the specter of a man to appear again. 

He did get some good shots of the surroundings with his phone, but his phone can only do so much before he starts itching for his camera. He doesn’t want to bring it here, though, in case he ends up breaking it in all the excitement, should he see that man again. 

Kihyun firmly believes he’s going to encounter him again, but his confidence in that has waned the slightest bit as each day went by. 

He gives himself 15 more minutes before he goes back home to get mentally ready for the onslaught of questions Minhyuk will most likely have for him. 

He feels it the moment he puts his phone in his pocket again. The sudden quiet, accompanied by goosebumps along his skin. He turns around slowly to see the portal a few paces ahead of him. And Kihyun knows for sure that it’d be an incredibly hard task to make something like this look so real. He takes a couple of steps to the side, just in case something, or someone, comes barreling down his way again.

And just like the first time, between one blink and the next, a man on a horse appears from within the swirling portal. Kihyun squeaks as the man makes his way towards him. However, he slows down and once he’s in front of Kihyun, he stops and dismounts his horse. 

Even before he takes off his hat, Kihyun already knows it’s the stranger from last time. The only difference now is the smile he gives Kihyun when their eyes meet and Kihyun, embarrassingly enough, feels his mouth gaping. 

A movement from behind the stranger gets Kihyun’s attention and this time he gasps to notice someone else has come out of the portal. The man turns around to the second person and his hand finds the hilt of his sword. Kihyun gapes for an entirely different reason this time when the man pulls his sword from its sheath and holds it with both hands.

The stranger readies himself to charge toward the second rider who has now slowed to a stop about five meters width ahead of them. However, he turns back around and puts a hand on Kihyun’s shoulder. 

“Find cover,” is the clipped response Kihyun gets from him before he turns back to face the threat. 

Kihyun runs to the direction away from the ensuing fight and puts himself behind a huge boulder. He knows he should leave. He knows now, that this is real, and he doesn’t know exactly why or how this has happened, but he knows the two man about to face-off in front of him are as real as Kihyun himself. And if Kihyun’s kind-faced man loses, it’s not going to end well for Kihyun, but, he doesn’t want to just leave him here. 

He tries to look for something nearby to defend himself with, but he stops his search when he hears swords clashing. The clang of the metal vibrates down to his bone and he starts saying every prayer he’s ever learned. He wants to close his eyes, but he can’t, he needs to see this to the end. 

He doesn’t know much about sword fighting- who even does nowadays-but Kihyun’s stranger, seems to be on the defensive. He’s mostly dodging the attacks and deflecting them. Kihyun’s heart feels like it’s going to jump out of his chest, and he’s starting to get jittery from the adrenaline. 

“NO!” 

Kihyun screams and quickly slaps a hand to his mouth when the attacker manages to slice the hat off and for a second he thinks he might vomit at the thought of how close his stranger came to being killed. Kihyun waits with bated breath, a hand still over his mouth as the two swordsmen put some distance between them to regroup. 

Kihyun tries to spot for any injuries or blood but he can’t see clearly from this distance. He gasps as the attacker charges again, but this time, Kihyun’s stranger dodges at the last minute and twists his upper body slightly so that he can drive the sword into the attacker. 

Things stand still for a moment, almost too long for his rapidly thudding heart, before the attacker groans and falls, clutching the sword stuck in his body. 

Kihyun hasn’t moved from his spot, so he watches with shock as the man’s body seems to turn into ash; the remnants settling gently down to the ground until there’s only the bloodied sword left behind. 

Kihyun comes out from his hiding spot with careful steps. He makes his way to his stranger while the man picks up his sword. Kihyun approaches him as he cleans his sword.

“You”.

The stranger turns towards his voice. Kihyun can make out his features better now, even with the mess of wild hair framing his face. He has a jawline that makes Kihyun want to say embarrassing things about it. A thin set of lips Kihyun resolutely does not focus on. And dark eyebrows that do nothing to mar his kind eyes, focused entirely on Kihyun now. 

“What year is it?” Kihyun looks down to his, very wide, shoulders and the Joseon-garb the man is donning and, he knows, already, that the answer he will get is not going to be 2019.

The stranger’s eyebrows meet in the middle as he tilts his head. When he answers, Kihyun’s torn between being smug and being completely stunned at the answer.

“The fourteenth year of King Lee Jeong’s reign, 1756”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve completely made up the kings in the Joseon era, even though there was a real Taejeong. In case there is any confusion, Hyunwoo is loyal to the second born prince and they’re trying to overthrow the crown prince, both of whom are the king’s sons, from different mothers. Also, Kihyun caught on quickly to the whole time traveling thing because a) he’s Kihyun and b) he has pop culture on his side. Hyunwoo’s top knot got cut off so he now has shorter hair but still needs a proper haircut (does he really, Kihyun) so they’ll be going to Wonho’s salon next time.


	6. Chapter 6

2019 

It doesn’t matter how many times he repeats that in his head, it doesn’t sound real, but in light of everything that has happened, this might be the only explanation he can give.

 

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it that much further because the wagon-car, he’s been told it’s called-has started moving and he straightens his posture as they seem to speed up in no time at all. 

 

“Ah, that’s right, I don’t know your name”. He turns to his left but his eyes do not meet the gaze of those bright eyes that had Hyunwoo betting on a stranger and a chance encounter to successfully carry out his mission.

 

“Son Hyunwoo, personal guard to His Highness, prince Lee Wol.” He tries to turn his whole body but the belt strapped across his shoulder prevents him. He tries to protest at this bondage but he sees that his angel had also bound himself with the same apparatus. 

 

Hyunwoo probably needs to stop calling him an angel in his head now, but he thinks the description suits the man, who makes a noise of acknowledgment and nods his head.

 

“Nice to meet you, Hyunwoo-ssi, I’m Yoo Kihyun,” the angel smiles, and then, his face freezes in shock and his eyes widen. “Prince Lee Wol, as in the prince Lee Wol who became King Sejo?”

 

King Sejo. It shouldn’t come as so much of a shock, they’ve been working towards that goal for years now, but still, this brings a relieved smile to his face. Though, he still has doubts that he has somehow travelled to more than 300 years into the future, he’s more inclined to believe the situation if this is the outcome in this reality.

 

“He is still Prince Lee Wol where I come from,” he tells the angel-Kihyun. He has a name now, he probably shouldn’t get caught calling him an angel.

 

“Ah, I don’t remember the exact year of his ascension but he’s definitely one of the popular monarchs in our history. He did a lot of good reforms”. 

 

Hyunwoo’s heart lifts to hear that Prince Lee Wol will indeed become King one day and go on to do the great things Hyunwoo has always believed him to be capable. He has never doubted the prince, even when the prince doubted himself. But Hyunwoo’s existence is the proof of the prince’s kindness and justness. Hyunwoo doesn’t know about all the projects he would like to initiate if he does become the king, but he knows that there is an old sort of wisdom in the prince to couple with all his other virtues and Hyunwoo has known of lesser kings who had ruled the country.

 

“So, that talisman is how you’re able to travel between our times?” Kihyun asks. Hyunwoo takes out the said item from his vest and once again, marbles at how ordinary it looks. He had explained to Kihyun after he’s opened the portal again to send his horse through it, since Kihyun explained that they wouldn’t be able to leave the poor animal at the area-park-they were in.

 

“Yes,” Hyunwoo answers. “If I touch it and think of being at another place, it seems to take me there. So far”, Hyunwoo has figured this part out, but he still has so many questions about how exactly he can do that and why, specifically, here.

 

Anything else Kihyun might ask him is interrupted by the car coming to a stop. Kihyun takes his hand away from the round gear that lets him operate the vehicle and undoes the strap of his belt. Hyunwoo tries to remove the belt as well by finding the opening, but pulling it doesn’t seem to work.

 

“Wait, you have to push the button on the side to release it,” Kihyun tells him, “let me show you”. Kihyun leans over the compartment separating their seats and pushes down on the red button next to his seat. The belt is released and Kihyun catches the end of it and leans over Hyunwoo to put it back to its resting place next to the door. Hyunwoo leans back into his seat so Kihyun doesn’t have to reach far but their bodies still brush against each other. Hyunwoo catches the scent of spiced flowers as Kihyun quickly withdraws to his seat.

 

Kihyun’s face slowly seems to redden and he seems to laugh at nothing in particular, not making eye contact with Hyunwoo. “Ahh..tha-that’s how you’re supposed to do it, I just didn’t want the belt to hit you with the sudden force. Not...anyway! We’re here”.

Hyunwoo blinks at the suddenly empty spot as Kihyun opens the door after this rapid outburst and closes it. His eyes follow Kihyun who goes around the front of the car to appear next to him. He opens the door for Hyunwoo and Hyunwoo realizes that he needs to ask him how to open the doors as well.

 

Hyunwoo steps out of the car and looks at his surroundings. He sees many other cars with various shapes and sizes running on the paved road. But he also sees buildings that seem to reach into the sky. Hyunwoo has been to markets and has come across busy traveler roads but there seems to be noises coming from every direction. He also spots people walking along the side of the road adorning clothing the likes of which he has never even imagined.

 

He wishes he still had his sword on hand, just to have a familiar item with him as his senses are barraged with all these strange things. But Kihyun had asked him to leave it in the car as people in the future apparently do not carry a sword with them on their bodies.

 

“Hyunwoo-ssi?” Kihyun’s voice stops his wandering eyes. He looks to where he’s being beckoned and follows Kihyun towards one of the buildings with words printed on the glass walls in a language he doesn’t recognize. He sees through the glass that there are people inside sitting down in chairs and others standing next to them or behind the chairs. He’s too busy observing the place that he doesn’t realize Kihyun’s made an abrupt stop and bumps into his back. Kihyun is almost pushed toward the glass walls but Hyunwoo’s quick reflex catches him by the waist.

 

“Crap, I forgot about Minhyuk!”, Hyunwoo releases his hold on Kihyun’s waist when Kihyun turns around. His face is taking on the familiar panicked look again and Hyunwoo seriously wishes he had his sword on him.

 

“Ok, if anyone asks, tell them you’re an actor. Just agree with whatever I say and don’t say anything else. Actually, it’s better if you just don’t say anything at all. We didn’t have time to come up with a story and now Minhyuk’s is there and so is Hoseok hyung and I can’t believe I forgot we were meeting up, but do you understand?”

 

Truthfully, Hyunwoo doesn’t. But he nods his head because Kihyun looks like he might pass out from holding his breath in if he doesn’t. And Kihyun does only let out a huge sigh after Hyunwoo agrees. “Ok, follow me”.

 

 

Kihyun tries not to squirm in his makeup seat and get yelled at by Bora for the 20th time but he can’t help it. As soon as he had entered the salon, Minhyuk was on him. And then, he noticed that Kihyun wasn’t alone and went quiet with a glint in his eyes and Kihyun knows a silent Minhyuk is a Minhyuk who’s plotting. He has had to hastily introduced Hyunwoo to Hoseok to let him know Hyunwoo needs a haircut and quickly. He wanted to hover around Hyunwoo and Hoseok to make sure Hyunwoo didn’t say anything he shouldn’t, but he had been called over to do his own makeup since he’d need to be heading for the station soon.

 

“So, who’s the hot guy Hoseok’s working his magic on?” Kihyun flinches at the voice and gets a tsk from Bora.

 

“Sorry, noona”, he smiles at her and she shakes her head only once so he thinks he’s off the hook, for now. He composes himself to make sure he has a sound story to give to Minhyuk before he starts speaking. “He was a sunbae from my department,” Kihyun tells him.

 

“Then how come I’ve never seen him before-and”, Minhyuk shouts before Kihyun can defend himself. “Don’t say it’s because we went to different unis, Hoseok doesn’t know who he is either.”

 

Damn it. He was hoping he’d be able to convince Hoseok that he does know him vaguely and has just forgotten since graduation. 

 

“Hoseok was in another department, of course he’s not going to know everybody in my mine”, Kihyun huffs, and pouts his lips when Bora taps his chin. 

 

“Then, who is he? Name, Age, Location”. 

 

Kihyun thanks the fact that he couldn’t talk right away because he’s pretty sure he would’ve said something damning and fallen right into Minhyuk’s trap.

 

“His name is Son Hyunwoo. He was in Hoseok’s year. I haven’t seen him since his graduation but we were in some upper classes together”, Kihyun smacks his lips and closes his eyes so Bora can start working on it. Kihyun continues, “we just ran into each other a few days ago and he’s auditioning for a role in a historical drama and he’s into the whole method acting thing so I’ve been helping him with some scenes”.

 

Minhyuk makes a considering noise and Kihyun doesn’t know if he’s convinced him but it’d be too easy if he had. 

 

“That explains why he’s dressed like that, I guess”.

 

“Mmhmm, also, can you tell Hoseok to lend him some clothes, he’s so into ‘being’ the character that he’s been wearing that for a few days and forgot where he put his clothes”. Kihyun’s honestly meant to take Hyunwoo to a store to get him into a more 21st century appropriate outfit, but they had ran out of time and he knows Hoseok, and Minhyuk, can dress Hyunwoo better than he can.

 

“Interesting,” Minhyuk comments, “unkempt is usually the opposite of your type. Didn’t you break up with that grad school kid after spending a weekend at his place?” 

 

“Ok, for the last time, that was not the only reason me and Changkyun broke up. And, secondly, don’t say anything weird in front of him, he’s just my sunbae”. 

 

“Mmmhmm. I think Hoseok might need help with this makeover. I’ll be back”. 

 

Minhyuk walks away before Kihyun can grab him. And as much as he’s relieved to not be under Minhyuk’s interrogation anymore, he’d rather him than Hyunwoo, who doesn’t know the full force of Lee Minhyuk. And Hoseok will probably intervene to an extent because he still has manners, but Hoseok is utterly useless when Minhyuk wants something.

 

“You know, Hyolyn is still here. If you want me to call her in”, Bora taps on his right eye as her signal for Kihyun that she’s done. 

 

Minhyuk is only scared of a handful of people and Hyolyn is one of them. Kihyun gives her a genuine smile. “Thanks noona, if I need to, I’ll let you know.” As annoying as Minhyuk’s nosiness can be, Kihyun knows that he’s only like this because he cares, mostly.

 

“If you’re sure. But, Minhyuk’s probably right to try to set you two up, even if you don’t need his help, because that, is a seriously good looking man.”

 

Kihyun turns toward the part of the salon Hyunwoo, Hoseok, ad Minhyuk are in, but the area’s empty. 

 

“They just finished and I think Hoseok’s trying to find clothes that will fit your mystery man.”

 

Kihyun blushes, “he’s not my man, noona”, he doesn’t whine, but it’s a close thing. 

 

“Uh huh, now close your eyes again, I want to try something.”

 

 

Kihyun thinks he might have made a serious miscalculation about this whole situation when he sees Hyunwoo. He thinks he shouldn’t have Hyunwoo get a haircut or let Hoseok and Minhyuk style him. 

 

He was done with makeup a little earlier than Hyunwoo was done trying clothes on and foolishly, he waited for Hyunwoo to come out of the changing room like a scene from some drama. 

 

He knew Hyunwoo was a handsome man but he wasn’t prepared for how good he’d look in a black turtleneck nestled snugly underneath a brown corduroy jacket. The light blue jeans fit him just right against his legs and thighs and, Kihyun quickly averts his gaze upward but that only makes it worse. Hyunwoo’s hair is a lot shorter now but still kept longer in the front for his fringes, which are pushed back with either hairspray or gel. 

 

Minhyuk is wrong because Hyunwoo is exactly Kihyun’s type and if Minhyuk’s “just a sunbae, my ass” muttering when Kihyun was busy taking it all in is anything to go by, Kihyun knows he’s never going to get Minhyuk to be convinced otherwise. 

 

“It’s a little tight”, Hyunwoo informs him. He pulls and presses the new clothes, looking down at himself. 

“He speaks!” Minhyuk gasps. 

 

Kihyun turns to glare at him. Minhyuk gives him his best shit-eating grin. Kihyun narrows his eyes at him and turns back towards Hyunwoo. “You look good though. I mean-the clothes look good...on you”.

 

Minhyuk covers up his laugh with a not-convincing cough. “I’ll go tell Hoseok I’m ready to leave. He promised me dinner”, Minhyuk points to the changing room where Hoseok is getting his stuff. He takes two steps forward before he stops in between Kihyun and Hyunwoo. “Do you need a ride, Hyunwoo-ssi? I know Kihyun has to get to the station soon so he probably won’t be able to drive you back”.

 

Kihyun lets out an expletive in his head. He hasn’t thought about where Hyunwoo’s going to go. He meets Hyunwoo’s gaze and it seems Hyunwoo has not thought about it either. He hasn’t had time to ask, but he can tell there’s a reason why Hyunwoo’s not just jumping back to his time. 

 

“Ah, that”, Kihyun laughs, “well, he’s-he’s urm-”

 

“Minhyukie, let’s go eat, I’m hungry”, Hoseok appears from the changing room and Kihyun thanks Hoseok’s timing silently in his head.

 

“Hmm, ok, but let’s go visit the station for a few minutes first. I haven’t been there in a while”, Minhyuk says. Kihyun retracts the thanks he was sending to the deities in his head. “I have your protein bars with me, so just eat those until we get to dinner. Now, let’s go! Kihyun’s going to be late”. 

 

Minhyuk grabs Hoseok’s hand and walks towards the exit. Kihyun, left with no choice, takes a breath, and resigns himself to his fate. Hoseok shrugs over his shoulder in apology and Kihyun can only nod at him. Hyunwoo looks at him, concern etched on his face, and damn him, he still looks unfairly good. At least, they’ll be alone in the car on the way to the station- for Kihyun to explain as much as he can to Hyunwoo, about all the changes that have happened in the last 300 something years. He’ll have a whole twenty minutes anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [SoftKihyun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftKihyun/pseuds/SoftKihyun) for looking this over!
> 
> I've been waiting to get to this part since I started. Apologies for the stink the chapter has because of the fifty different type of cheese in this. Kihyun is *smitten*, Hyunwoo is also *smitten* but just less obvious about it.


	7. Chapter 7

Hyunwoo follows Kihyun inside Kihyun’s home. He sees Kihyun takes his shoes off and puts them onto a rack by the doorway and follows suit. When he looks up, Kihyun’s staring at him.

“I usually have to yell at people to do that,” Kihyun says. “But, home sweet home! This is the living room and that’s the kitchen. The bathroom is down that hall and my bedroom is upstairs.” Kihyun points out each part of the house as he speaks. 

The house isn’t big but he can see that it’s comfortable enough for Kihyun. The living room has a long padded bench with a blanket folded in a corner. There’s a table between the bench and the black box that he’s been told by Minhyuk is called a TV. 

Kihyun had reluctantly introduced him to his two friends. They had both been friendly but curious. Hoseok hasn’t asked him anything beyond if he could his head this way or that and whether Hyunwoo could put on the clothes he brought him. Hyunwoo did think he was going to have to call the other man into the bathroom at one point because of the pants, but he had figured it out in the end.

Minhyuk, on the other hand, has kept a steady stream of words that were sometimes in the form of questions. Hyunwoo answered as well as he could but Minhyuk had stopped after awhile with a contemplative look on his face. Hyunwoo’s still not sure if he should be worried about that.

“Are you hungry?” Kihyun asks from the kitchen. The two rooms are only separated by a counter and Hyunwoo has a clear view of Kihyun taking out some ingredients that he guesses would be dinner. “I haven’t gone grocery shopping in a while so I can only make ramen”. Kihyun stands in front of a pot above a stove that took no more than a few seconds to light. 

Hyunwoo takes a look around more carefully. He spots a bookshelf next to the bench with books neatly lined in rows. One shelf has other items on display that Hyunwoo guesses are probably stationery. He picks up a picture framed in a box that is made to look like a frog is hugging the frame. 

The faces of a younger version of Kihyun, Hoseok, and Minhyuk smile brightly at him. They’re all wearing uniformed clothes. Hoseok sits in the center and has his hands held out to the sides for Kihyun and Minhyuk to rest their chins. 

Hyunwoo smiles back at them. Noting that they haven’t changed much, except for their hair color. A smiling Kihyun does look even more angelic and Hyunwoo wonders if he will ever get to see that smile in person. 

He also makes his way to the bathroom to figure out the mechanics of a 21st century bathroom. Hyunwoo thinks it’s needlessly complicated. He’s figured out which contraption is the toilet and figured out the lever that quickly drains the bowl. He also spots a basin with a faucet that he guesses is for washing up. There’s also an area cordoned off by a curtain with a brightly colored and cheerful rendition of a mouse on the surface.

Hyunwoo makes his way back to the living room in time to see Kihyun carrying the pot of food from the kitchen to the living room. The delicious smell is wafting off the pot and only gets stronger as Kihyun opens the lid to release the steam.

“Here, come sit,” Kihyun beckons him over to sit next to him. “This is Yoo Kihyun’s famous ramen.” Hyunwoo peeks into the pot to see a bright red soup with noodles swimming about. He also spots eggs, scallions, thin slices of soft tofu, and what looks like meat. He swallows the saliva that forms in his mouth and accepts the chopsticks and spoon Kihyun hands him. Kihyun’s placed two small bowls next to the pot and he fills one and also hands it over to Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo waits for Kihyun to also fill up his bowl as his stomach grumbles. Kihyun looks over at him and indicates that Hyunwoo should try the food first. Hyunwoo picks up the noodles and blows on them before putting it in his mouth. He also drinks the soup with the spoon quickly.

The taste is nothing like he’s ever had. As a personal guard to a prince, he has had the opportunity here and there to try fine food and exotic cuisine. But the noodles are cooked perfectly, not too chewy and not too hard. The soup base has an addicting aftertaste. He also tries a piece of the meat to find that it’s saltiness only adds to the flavor.

Kihyun seems to be waiting for his reaction as he hasn’t touched his food yet. “It tastes amazing,” Hyunwoo tells him truthfully.

Kihyun’s face breaks out into that smile Hyunwoo saw in the photograph. Except it’s better than he expected because he’s smiling like that at Hyunwoo, because of Hyunwoo. He forgets about the mouth-watering food in front of him, content to stare at Kihyun. He doesn’t know how many seconds pass by as he and Kihyun continue looking at each other.

Hyunwoo wants to tell him how beautiful he looks but he catches the words before they can escape from his mouth. He doesn’t know how Kihyun will take them. He hasn’t thought to ask if the view on his tastes are still something to be kept secret. He didn’t think this was a thing he’d have to worry about with time traveling. He didn’t think it’d be something he’d have to worry about at all anymore.

Hyunwoo knows the life expectancy of a guard. He knows it’s even worse for ones protecting people as important as the royal family. He had never planned to marry for he did not want women that way. And all the trysts he has had were with men as careful as he was and knew that there would be nothing beyond a quick fumble or a few hours spared before dawn’s break. He’s never found someone that would make him yearn for more. For the first time since this whole thing began, he’s starting to doubt the plan he’s followed.

He goes back to his food abruptly. He sees Kihyun shaking his head from the corner of his eyes, and hears him clearing his throat. They both concentrate on eating for the next few minutes. A tension forming between them that he’s not used to.

“Ah, I just thought of something!” Kihyun perks up. “I know someone who’s doing their PhD in history, specifically on the Joseon period. I think he might be able to help us.”

Hyunwoo has thought about trying to find a way to learn more about how the second prince had become king. “That’s a good idea,” Hyunwoo agrees. “I would like to see some written journals and records, if that’s possible.”

Kihyun nods his head vehemently. “He’s at SNU so he should have access to the royal archives. I just have to track him down,” Kihyun makes a face at that. “I don’t have his number so I’ll have to get it from someone else,” Kihyun mutters, more to himself. He takes out his phone, that he’s explained is magic and does everything for him. Hyunwoo figures that he’s right because he seems to press his fingers on the thin white box and seems to get answers instantly. 

They finish up their meal soon after that. He helps Kihyun carries the aftermath of their dinner to the kitchen. Kihyun shows him how to wash the dishes and after he’s demonstrated his mastery of this new skill to Kihyun’s satisfaction, he’s relegated to drying the dishes with a rag as Kihyun washes them.

Kihyun also shows him around the bathroom and how he can wash up. The cordoned area turns out to be a place to wash his body. Kihyun teaches him how to turn the water on and off and adjust the temperature. He leaves Hyunwoo quickly to try to find clothes he might have that would fit Hyunwoo and returns with said clothes and a towel.

The bath does wonders to relax his muscles. He thinks he can actually visualize the stress of the past few days washing away with the actual dirt and grime. The clothes Kihyun found for him are tighter than the ones Hoseok had given him. He’s actually worried the shirt might rip if he makes any sudden movement. The pants aren’t so bad, they come up just above his ankle but the waistband stretches to accommodate his body. 

He meets Kihyun in the hallway to see him flustered and flushed. Hyunwoo’s about to ask him if anything’s wrong but Kihyun shoots pass him to get to the bathroom, a set of clothes and another towel clutched under his arm.

 

Hyunwoo figures out how to open the TV as he waits for Kihyun. It appears to be another play as the entertainers look different from the ones he saw at the radio station. He’s still trying to follow along with the story when he hears Kihyun calling him from the bathroom. 

He makes his way to the bathroom to find Kihyun adorned with a similar set of clothes that he’s wearing. His shirt is white and his pants are dark blue, whereas Kihyun’s shirt is a dark blue and the pants are white. Kihyun’s also seems much looser as Hyunwoo can see a peek of his collarbones from the stretched collar. 

“I-uh, I forgot to show you how to brush your teeth,” Kihyun hands him a small brush that has a white substance on it. “This is your toothbrush now. You can put it in the cup that’s on the sink after you’re done. You should brush your teeth at night and in the morning. Just put the paste on the brush and wet it after and just, brush.”

He follows Kihyun’s instructions and starts brushing his teeth. He’s surprised to find that the paste becomes a soap like foam in his mouth. Next to him, Kihyun’s doing the same. Hyunwoo observes him through the mirror. Kihyun studiously avoids his gaze. 

He’s given a blanket and a pillow afterwards. Kihyun fusses over the sofa that’s to be his bed and Hyunwoo smiles behind his back.

“OK, we need to wake up at 8 tomorrow. So, good night?”

“Good night.”

Hyunwoo watches him climb the ladder to his bedroom. He settles himself to the sound of Kihyun doing the same. Kihyun tosses and turns for a good twenty minutes before his breathing evens out. About ten minutes after, Hyunwoo hears soft snores and smiles to himself. He finally closes his eyes, the last image in his mind that of Kihyun softly bidding him a good night.

 

 

“You didn’t tell me you were bringing a guest, hyung,” Lee Jooheon’s greeting smile fades into a scrutiny at the sight of Hyunwoo next to Kihyun. 

“Ah, yea,” Kihyun scratches his head and makes a show of good-natured forgetfulness. “This is Son Hyunwoo. He’s a sunbae and he’s studying for a role.” Jooheon and Hyunwoo greet each other warily. 

Jooheon is like a younger brother, cute and easy to sway over. And he normally wouldn’t be like this over a new person he meets but Jooheon is one of Changkyun’s closest friends, Kihyun knew something like this would happen.

“Is that so?” Jooheon’s eyes are still narrowed at Hyunwoo. “Changkyun didn’t mention that someone else would be tagging along, that’s all.” 

“It was a last minute thing and it was already late at night so I didn’t want to keep Changkyun and his girlfriend up.” Kihyun deliberately brings up the fact Changkyun has a girlfriend now and he’s no longer crying over their breakup-not that he was crying over their breakup at all when that happened, but he’s pretty sure people thinks he was a cold hearted bastard that dumped Changkyun. When, in fact, it was Changkyun who broke up with him and only asked him out because Kihyun reminded him of his ex-current, again-girlfriend.

Jooheon deflates at the reminder. “Alright, come with me, you’ll need to sign in with your IDs.”

Kihyun stops dead in track. He hasn’t thought about this before, but Hyunwoo technically doesn’t exist in 2019. He doesn’t have IDs or passports or even a birth certificate. He curses a storm in his head. The national archives that they’re visiting today has a lot of sensitive documents, there’s no way Hyunwoo would be able to see them.

“Actually, Hyunwoo misplaced his ID and he’s still in the process of getting a replacement. He doesn’t have his passport on hand either.” 

Jooheon frowns, “then, he’s going to have to wait outside the archives then, everyone needs to sign in.”

Hyunwoo throws him a troubled look. Kihyun can potentially take a look at the records Hyunwoo needs, but he’s afraid of missing something. 

“Please, Jooheon-ah, we won’t take that long. Hyunwoo’s shoot is coming up and he really needs to immerse in the role and read up on the actual historical records,” Kihyun practically begs Jooheon.

“Can’t he just make use of the ones that are available online?” Jooheon asks the obvious question. Kihyun’s trying to think of a response to that when Hyunwoo starts speaking.

“Jooheon-ssi, you seem to be an honorable and law-abiding citizen. The drama,” Hyunwoo pauses, as if he’s trying out the word, “that I’m a part of will be focusing extensively on King Sejo’s younger years and it’s my first role so I do not want to disappoint everyone involved. But I understand that you’re doing your job. I apologize for having to trouble you. I’ll make do with the resources available.”

Kihyun stares at Hyunwoo for giving up so easily, especially when Hyunwoo needs the information way more than he does. But then, he looks at Jooheon and who’s blushing and shuffling his feet.

“I’m just trying to be diligent, you know? I could get in trouble for this.” Hyunwoo gives an understanding directed at Jooheon. “Ok, one hour, but you guys really need to leave by then, and you weren’t ever here, understand?”

Kihyun nods enthusiastically and gives a relieved smile at Hyunwoo behind Jooheon’s back. They step off together behind Jooheon.

 

 

It takes a while to get to the records they’re looking for, but they eventually collect a pile of them and deposit that pile on a desk. Hyunwoo’s asked for anything they could get their hands on that’s around the time of the coup. He’s asked Kihyun for palace records, the court official scribe’s notes, medical records, and anything else he could think of. 

It is a strange feeling to be reading on events that had not happened to him. He still wonders to himself why he was granted this chance. And whether he should not be messing with the order of things. But when he finds the passages he’s looking for, he throws that caution to the wind because he needs this information. 

He starts reading the passages to find that the king will pass away in about ten months time, from consumption. Hyunwoo takes a moment to process that information. Although he was a king influenced by the crown princess’ clan, he was still a father who did not abandon his second born son as most monarchs tended to do with their spares until they had need of them. 

Hyunwoo continues reading to find that the week before the ascension ceremony, the crown prince will be accused of patricide. And here, Hyunwoo’s eyes widen in surprise. The record states that there is strong evidence of the crown prince poisoning the king with a slow-acting substance that had led to the gradual decline of the king’s health. 

The king had been in poor health for over a year now and although the best medics from the country had treated him, no one had been expecting him to recover. It isn’t hard to believe that the crown prince would be willing to poison him, but, Hyunwoo knows from the conversations he couldn’t help but hear between the Lady Sangja and prince Lee Wol that Magistrate Do is a crafty man, capable of long-term strategy that would be enough to dispose a monarch. As he continues his reading, he finds that a damning letter with the crown prince’s seal, as well as an eyewitness will have been presented against the crown prince. Although the crown prince will deny the accusations, the protest from the Sungkyunkwan scholars and the ministers’ call for support, as well as the populace’s demand for a just king who will be free from influence of the crown princess’ clan will eventually be enough to overthrow the crown prince. Magistrate Do’s militia will capture the crown prince and the first act King Sejo will pass is the sentencing of the former crown prince and princess to exile. 

A noise from his side distracts him from his readings. He looks to Kihyun who hurriedly puts down his phone and avoids his questioning gaze. Hyunwoo decides to not press on whatever Kihyun thinks he’s successful in hiding from Hyunwoo. Kihyun himself makes a startled noise about ten seconds after that.

“Why is your name not here?” Hyunwoo looks at the cover of the journal he’s reading to find that it’s the palace record of employment. He looks at the exact line Kihyun has his finger on and realizes why Kihyun finds it strange. The personal guard assigned to the king is Chae Siyoon. 

He feels a pang or disappointment at the fact that he was no longer needed to safeguard the new king, but, this is normal, a king would need the best of the realm, and as confident in his abilities as Hyunwoo is, he knows that he’s not the best. However, as he continues reading, he doesn’t find his name on any part of the journal. Kihyun hands it over to him and he flips through a few pages and he does not spot his name on any other pages as well. 

“Maybe, you were reassigned somewhere else?” Kihyun voices out the question in his mind. He supposes that would make sense. “I’m going to look up some birth and death records according to family name.”

Hyunwoo places a hand on Kihyun’s wrist before Kihyun can get up. “My family’s record would say that it ended twenty five years ago.” At Kihyun’s questioning look, Hyunwoo decides to share the story he hasn’t had to with anyone, because, everyone knows what has happened to Minister Lee and his family. 

“I was born Lee Hyunwoo. My father was the Minister Of Commerce at the time I was born. He was accused of embezzlement and the whole family was punished by hanging for his crimes.” Hyunwoo pauses at Kihyun’s shock. “The prince begged for the king to spare me because I was no more than two, and when the king did, he had me take his mother’s surname. He had always treated me as a younger brother. And it wasn’t until I was older, I realized why people look at me differently.”

Kihyun’s eyes are shining with moisture and the last thing Hyunwoo wants is to make Kihyun feel sad over this. Over him. He squeezes Kihyun’s hand gently and gives him a reassuring smile. “I had a good childhood, and, a purposeful life now. The prince and Concubine Son had always treated me like I was kin. I am more of a Son than I ever was a Lee.”

He doesn’t know how long they stay like that, with his hand on Kihyun’s. It’s only Jooheon’s clearing his throat and letting them know their time is up that makes Hyunwoo draws his hand away. His hand already yearning for the opportunity to hold Kihyun’s again.

 

 

Kihyun and Hyunwoo say goodbye to Jooheon and repeatedly thank him for his help. Jooheon waves them with a big smile, and a demand for Kihyun to contact him regularly. Kihyun leads Hyunwoo back to the car. He has already planned the next activity on their outing, as soon as he’s seen that Hyunwoo only has one outfit, other than the pajamas Kihyun’s loaned him that was mistakenly shipped to him a size too large and in the wrong colors than he’d ordered. The store has let him keep the wrong order as an apology and Kihyun’s had kept it as a spare. He doesn’t realize how wearing both sets of pajamas would make him and Hyunwoo look like a couple matching their outfits until Hyunwoo had gotten out of the shower, already wearing the clothes.

He wishes he had brought Hoseok along, but even Hoseok might get suspicious about why Kihyun’s taking Hyunwoo shopping. In the end, he decides to get a couple of button-ups and a t-shirt or two, some dressier pants and a good pair of jeans. Hyunwoo dutifully follows after him and takes the items of clothing Kihyun tosses at him without a complaint. When the pile gets big enough that it reaches his chin, Kihyun offers to relieve him, but Hyunwoo just smiles and says he’s fine. Kihyun chooses to believe him, not that he’s checked him out, but he’s seen a bit of Hyunwoo’s body, enough to know he can probably carry Kihyun without breaking a sweat.

He directs Hyunwoo to a changing room and ask him to try on the dark blue dress shirt with the black slacks Kihyun’s picked. He should probably get him a pair of oxfords too, the sneakers he’s gotten from Hoseok would look out of place with that outfit. 

He despairs about the credit card bill he’s going to rack up, but he’s helping out someone who literally doesn’t know anyone else in this world. He can’t be thinking about the costs of such a good act of kindness. He’ll just have to take on more voice-acting gigs. The station loves him anyway. 

Kihyun takes his phone out as he waits. He’s surprised to see that Minhyuk hasn’t bombarded him with messages, and, hasn’t asked to come over either. Kihyun will need to revisit that at some point. He also sends a ‘thank you, again’ text to Hoseok for helping out yesterday and instantly receives a heart emoji. 

After he finishes clearing his notifications, Kihyun opens up his Photos app. The most recent picture is a side profile of Hyunwoo, deeply absorbed in reading. Kihyun had done his part, but he can’t read Chinese and most of the official palace records were written in Chinese, with only a handful that were written in Korean. After a while of going over the ones he could understand, he had spared a glance to Hyunwoo and the sight was enough to make him want to capture it. Hyunwoo’s an attractive subject for the camera. He’s known that since the first meeting. He thinks Hyunwoo might actually like being photographed, since it would be a new experience for him, but, Kihyun had panicked when the shutter sound had caught Hyunwoo’s attention. So, he had pretended to not have been doing anything. 

Hyunwoo’s sneakers-clad feet appears in his line of sight and Kihyun looks up to see how the clothes fit on him. He has to correct his earlier statement and also curse Lee Minhyuk for being right. Hyunwoo’s standing stiffly and the light in the store is horrible. He’s not even posing and Kihyun thinks he’s the most beautiful human being his camera’s lens will ever be graced with. And he knows, he can’t deny to himself anymore that he thinks Hyunwoo’s handsome in an objective way. There’s nothing objective about the way Kihyun’s looking at him right now. 

“They’re alright?” Hyunwoo asks.

“Huh? Oh, yeah! I mean,” Kihyun clears his throat and he’s pretty sure his ears are turning pink. “They fit,” he says weakly. And, he thinks, what the hell, no one else is here to judge him right now. “Can you try out the rest? I just want to make sure they all, uh, fit, too.”

Hyunwoo nods and goes back into the changing room. Every outfit makes him look better than the last. Even when he comes out in a t-shirt with jeans. Kihyun’s positive that this is all part of the weird time-travel effect, probably, maybe. Kihyun’s a little disappointed when Hyunwoo runs out of outfits to show him. Kihyun pays for everything and only pauses a little when the total shows up on the register. Hyunwoo carries all the bags, except one, that Kihyun practically has to rip it out of his hands for. He thinks about possibly getting Hyunwoo in a proper suit, with a fitted blazer, and, a tie. And tries not to blush when his mind takes him to thoughts of having to tie it for Hyunwoo since he won’t know how to. 

Hyunwoo loads up the bags into the car while Kihyun thinks up a place for them to get food at since he still hasn’t done grocery shopping. After Hyunwoo’s done, Kihyun closes the trunk. He’s about to make his way to the driver’s seat when Hyunwoo’s words stop him.

“Thank you, I know you’ve gone out of your way with helping me, and I have yet to offer my sincere thanks,” Hyunwoo says and bows to Kihyun.

Later, he’ll beat himself over it in the car, all the way to the restaurant, with Hyunwoo no more than a hand’s width apart from him. He doesn’t know what comes over him at that moment. The sun is hanging right above them and Hyunwoo’s smile shines over that. He knows he’s taking advantage of Hyunwoo but it’s like his rational brain shuts down for a second.

“Do you know, there’s a way to thank people sincerely, if you want to do it properly”, Hyunwoo looks at him questioningly. Kihyun steps forward until he’s standing right in front of Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo eyes search his for the answer. He grabs Hyunwoo’s cheeks with his hands and tiptoes. He closes his eyes as his lips find Hyunwoo’s. 

It doesn’t last too long and also too long. It’s just a peck, Hyunwoo’s lips opening in surprise that almost makes Kihyun wants to dip hs tongue in. But he lets go after two seconds. Hyunwoo’s staring at him wide-eyed.

“That’s how you thank someone”. Kihyun practically runs towards the driver’s seat, as his face turns red. He doesn’t see Hyunwoo’s confusion slowly giving way to understanding. He also doesn’t see the smile Hyunwoo gives at his retreating back either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the complete bastardization and butchery of the Korean history. If anyone's a scholar in Korean history, please forgive my sins. With that being said, please enjoy 4k of more cheese and fluff. Minhyuk's inadvertently introduced Hyunwoo to dramas while he waited for Kihyun and he might have seen a kiss scene or two. Who wants to guess what's the real reason Hyunwoo's no longer working for the prince?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. Firstly, if this was missed in the tags, this is a Queen In-Hyun's Man!au. I'm going to do my best to stay true to the drama's plot but it's been years since I watched it so I don't remember accurate details and will be doing my own take to make up for the gaps in my memory. That drama is in my top 3 most loved dramas and I have always wanted to write a fic based on it but I did't see the right Kim Boong Do until I got into Monsta X and subsequently got to know Shownu. Secondly, it's been a while since I've written anything so this will be rusty, apologies. Let me stress that if you are looking for a tightly paced, well-written story, this is not it and no one is sadder about that than me. But it really is write the fic you want to see in the world and I just want this au to exist with showki, so here it is.
> 
> Edit: the lovely @SoftKihyun has agreed to beta this for me and I can’t describe how much I appreciate her taking the time out of her busy schedule.


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